Improving the blood culture pathway: executive summary – NHS England 
This report into blood culture practices outlines key improvement steps in the pre-analytical phase of the blood culture pathway. Through targeted recommendations to trust chief executives, clinical and pathology staff, we have an opportunity to improve the blood culture pathway, antimicrobial stewardship and patient outcomes from sepsis.

What are Integrated Care Systems? – NHS Confederation
On 1 July 2022, integrated care systems (ICSs) became responsible by statute for planning and funding health and care services. They are a core part of the NHS Long Term Plan from 2019 and build on how services have been working together at local levels to orientate health and care much more around the people they serve rather than their organisational boundaries. Their establishment represents the first large-scale structural change to the NHS since 2012. This briefing explains what ICSs are, how they will work, and what they mean for the public.

Was the NHS overwhelmed last winter? – Nuffield Trust 
Throughout the pandemic, politicians and other policymakers have emphasised the need to protect the NHS from collapse or overwhelm: even before Covid-19, the health service struggled to stay above water given worsening capacity, staffing and demand issues, especially during the colder months. This briefing looks at what happened to urgent and emergency hospital care last winter, when another wave of the virus hit the country during a time when it would be stretched to its absolute limits even absent of a pandemic.

HSJ Roundup –  Full text available >> simply e-mail the Hanley Library<<

Hundreds of products out of stock amid ‘unprecedented’ supply chain problems NHS trusts are finding hundreds of clinical and non-clinical products are out of stock with the national supply chain agency, leaving procurement teams scrambling to find alternatives and avoid gaps in supply.

NHSE looks to give up on key elective requirement NHS England is looking to change the rules around its flagship elective fund, amid concern that disappointing activity levels will trigger widespread financial penalties, HSJ has been told.

New health secretary named Sajid Javid has resigned and been replaced by Steve Barclay as health and social care secretary.

Sajid Javid resigns as health secretary Sajid Javid has resigned as health and social care secretary this evening, alongside chancellor Rishi Sunak.

Exclusive: Three-month cancer waits top 10,000 More than 10,000 people are waiting three months or longer following a referral for suspected cancer, internal NHS data seen by HSJ reveals.

NHSE sets trusts ‘100-day challenge’ to reduce delayed discharges NHS England has set trusts and systems a ‘100-day challenge’ to discharge more patients from hospital and free up beds before winter.

New chair for trusts with £3bn joint turnover Two of the NHS’s largest hospital trusts have appointed a new joint chair

Revealed: The trusts where at least one in 20 suspected cancer patients have waited three months More than 5 per cent of patients with suspected cancer have been waiting more than 104 days at 14 trusts, data leaked to HSJ reveals.

Revealed: The trusts where at least one in 20 cancer patients have waited three months More than 5 per cent of patients with suspected cancer have been waiting more than 104 days at 14 trusts, data leaked to HSJ reveals.

Exclusive: Three-month cancer waits top 10,000 for the first time More than 10,000 people are waiting three months or longer following a referral for suspected cancer, internal NHS data seen by HSJ reveals.

Revealed: The trusts where at least one in 20 urgent cancer patients have waited three months More than 5 per cent of patients with suspected cancer have been waiting more than 104 days at 14 trusts, data leaked to HSJ reveals.

Exclusive: Three-month ‘urgent’ cancer waits top 10,000 for the first time More than 10,000 people are waiting three months or longer following an urgent referral for suspected cancer, internal NHS data seen by HSJ reveals.

Exclusive: High covid rates spark blood supply ‘crisis’ The organisation which supplies blood to hospitals is in ‘crisis mode’ due to its stock falling to severely low levels, HSJ has learned.

North by North West: The software upgrade that sparked huge IT failure Essential insight into NHS matters in the North West of England. Contact me in confidence here.

NHS Employers Roundup

Step into Health employer engagement surgeries Join Step into Health’s regular engagement event for health and care employers.

Changes to apprenticeship funding in England from June 2022 The government has now published policy changes to apprenticeship funding in England from June 2022.

Staff engagement at Sherwood Forest Hospitals Learn how Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has applied staff engagement techniques as part of its continuous improvement efforts.

National freedom to speak up policy updated An updated national freedom to speak up policy and new guidance have been published to support leaders and line managers.

Calculating payments for shadowing FY1 appointees Read about the new arrangements for calculating payment of the foundation year 1 (FY1) shadowing period.

Celebrating T Levels Access tools and resources to help you celebrate during T Levels Celebration Week taking place Monday 4 – Friday 8 July 2022.

Hidden Talents webinar now available Our webinar showcasing real-life initiatives from NHS trusts supporting overseas nurses into Band 5 roles and beyond is now available to watch.

Updated guidance on recruitment of young people Latest quarterly updates have been made to three key resources supporting the recruitment of young people to the NHS.

Welcoming and valuing international medical graduates Find out about the new national induction programme for International Medical Graduates (IMGs) and guidance for employers.

Recent Statistics

NHS Health Check quarterly statistics: October to December 2021 offers and uptake Number of NHS Health Check offers and uptake data covering October to December 2021.

Community Services Statistics, April 2022 This publication reports information from the CSDS. This is a patient-level dataset providing information relating to NHS-funded community services. These services can include health centres, schools and mental health trusts…

Obesity Profile update: July 2022 Obesity Profile online data tool: update with new data on adult obesity prevalence from the Active Lives Adult Survey (ALAS) 2015 to 2021 and national and regional data from the National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP) fo…

Palliative and end of life care profiles: July 2022 data update The profiles provide an overview of palliative and end of life care in England at various geographies.

NHS Health Check quarterly statistics: January to March 2022 offers and uptake Number of NHS Health Check offers and uptake data covering January to March 2022.

Seasonal influenza vaccine uptake in GP patients: winter season 2021 to 2022 Report on the uptake of influenza vaccine in GP patients during the 2021 to 2022 influenza vaccination programme in England.

Seasonal influenza vaccine uptake in frontline healthcare workers (HCWs) in England: winter season 2021 to 2022 Report on the uptake of seasonal influenza vaccine in frontline healthcare workers (HCWs) during the 2021 to 2022 influenza vaccination programme in England.

Seasonal influenza vaccine uptake in children of school age: winter season 2021 to 2022 Report on the uptake of influenza vaccine in children of school age during the 2021 to 2022 influenza vaccination programme in England.

Health Inequalities Dashboard: June 2022 data update The Health Inequalities Dashboard presents data on health inequalities for England, English regions, clinical commissioning groups and local authorities.

Hospital statistics: emergency care activity 2021/22 Presents information on activity at emergency care departments, including data on new attendances, planned & unplanned review attendances, waiting times, patient transport and emergency (ambulance) response.

General Practice Workforce, 31 May 2022 Information about the GP workforce in General Practices, including by type, gender, and age. Includes information on the numbers and details of the GP workforce for England, Sustainability and Transformation Partnerships (ST…

Maternity Services Monthly Statistics, March 2022, experimental statistics Monthly publication of statistics from the Maternity Services Data Set. This month, we are analysing December 2021 data.

Health Survey England Additional Analyses, Ethnicity and Health, 2011-2019 Experimental statistics This new report compares statistics on health and health-related behaviours between Lesbian, Gay or Bisexual (LGB) and heterosexual adults between 2011 and 2019. Differences by age, ethnicity and sex are also considered.

NHS Staff Earnings Estimates, March 2022, Provisional Statistics Information on the average annual earnings of high level staff groups across the NHS in England.

NHS Workforce Statistics, March 2022 NHS workforce (HCHS) broken down by staff groups region and organisation.

NHS Sickness Absence Rates, February 2022, Provisional Statistics Monthly report on NHS Sickness absence rates by regions, organisations and main staff groups

Appointments in General Practice, May 2022 NHS Digital publishes this information to support winter preparedness and provide information about some activity within primary care. The publication will cover historic appointments, marked as attended or did not attend, f…

Access to products and services for disabled people, Great Britain: 16 February to 27 March 2022 Indicators from the Opinions and Lifestyle Survey (OPN) on disabled people’s experiences of accessing products and services in Great Britain. This release uses three waves of survey results covering dates between 16 Feb…